Nicola Sturgeon: Indyref2 should be ‘in earlier part’ of next parliamentary term

The First Minister believes a second independence referendum should be held "in the earlier part" of the next parliamentary term.

Nicola Sturgeon said the UK government's current opposition to Indyref2 was unsustainable, although Boris Johnson has repeatedly said he would not allow another referendum.

Ian Blackford, the SNP's leader at Westminster, said earlier this month that the referendum "must" be held next year.

Sturgeon made her comments during an interview with the BBC, ahead of the SNP’s virtual conference this weekend.

"I think the referendum should, for a whole variety of reasons, be in the earlier part of the next parliament,” she said.

However she stressed that her current focus was on steering Scotland through the coronavirus pandemic and her priority just now was the “health and wellbeing” of the country.

"I intend to say more about this before the election in our manifesto, but we are still in a global pandemic that I feel a bit more hopeful about seeing the end of than I did even just a couple of months ago,” she told the BBC.

"There's still a lot of uncertainty ahead. I'm a life-long believer and campaigner and advocate for independence, but right now I'm also the First Minister of Scotland.

"My responsibility is to the health and wellbeing of the country and trying to steer it through a pandemic and I'm very focused on that."

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said: “Nicola Sturgeon says we should have another independence referendum ‘sooner rather than later’ and won’t even rule one out next year.

“The only thing to stop this and keep us focussed on beating COVID and supporting our recovery after this virus is a vote for the Scottish Conservatives.”